As the days are getting increasingly colder, I remembered a gaping hole in the drywall behind my kitchen stove and decided I needed to do something about it.

I only discovered the hole when I replaced my stove many years ago, but I couldn't do much about it at the time since the guy was here to install the new one. So I stuffed some leftover insulation in the hole and that was that.

All these years, I get a very cold and constant draft coming up from behind the stove; I've stuffed old washcloths and dishtowels in the crevices but it doesn't really work.

So I called my handyman 2 days ago and he came here this afternoon to deal with it. There were actually 3 holes, the biggest one about 5 x 4 inches. He put in a new piece of drywall and then taped and compounded it. No one will ever see it, so we agreed the one coat of compound was enough.

We plugged the stove back in and pushed it about 6 inches from being flush with the wall, so the compound would have a chance to dry. I should be able to push it back tomorrow or the next day after it's completely dried.

He charged me $15 for materials and $20 for labor. He was here just 1 hour. I mean, how many guys would charge you so little? How many do you know who would even show up for a small job like that? He always gives me the receipt for materials so I know he's being honest. He knew I wasn't working and he said he was paying it forward.

I've been using him for at least 15 years. He struggled for work for a long time because he didn't want to pay the state for a license and so he never advertised. For the past 2 years, he found someone who owns a few apartment houses and keeps him busy nearly all the time.

I'm glad for him. He had reached a point where he couldn't pay his property taxes and the interest and penalties accumulated to about $35K; with the steady work he's doing, he's got that debt down to about $12K. I'm happy for him. He's a decent guy, the same person who I hired to help me clean out my mother's condo last year. He refused payment a few times, so I gave him a few things, including my mother's very nice stereo system and speakers, a boom box and some shelving.

And I'm so happy I eliminated a noticeable draft.

Whenever I see him I try to be supportive and be a good listener, becus he comes from a dysfunctional family. He's doing better these days.

I decided not to work on Election Day after all. They pay you $175, but it's an extremely long and tiring day that starts at 5:30 a.m. and goes til 9 p.m. So it comes out to about $9.50 an hour, which is not going to make or break me, either way.

What makes the day even tougher is that once you're there, in the gym, you can't leave til the polls close. So you have to bring whatever food you'll want to eat with you, becus you can't go out for lunch. But they don't have a microwave, stove or even a fridge, so whatever you have, it must store well in a cooler with ice paks. Sitting on cold metal chairs...as I get older, I'm less willing to do the things I've done in the past to make a dollar.

They usually get senior citizens helping out, and for the life of me, I don't know why they don't split the day into two shifts to make it more reasonable for older folks. They probably don't want to do the extra scheduling and paperwork that would be required.

I'm looking forward to watching the election returns come in live on TV.

We're in the middle of a pretty bad drought here. Talked to my neighbor last night, who told me they've had the pool water tanker truck there every other month. Each time it comes, it costs them $500; the truck can't make it all the way up their driveway, which is long and steep, so he has to run a hose, and apparently they charge extra for that.

But they don't have a choice becus they have 3 tenants that pay rent, plus 3 thirsty cows.